Flush-tank fixture



AJuly 1, 1930. A. A. BRlGGs ET AL l 1,769,617

' FLUSH TANK FIXTURE Filed Nov. lO, 1928 2-SheetsSheet l INVENTORS //fred A r/:ggs

July 1, 1930. A. A. BRiGGs Er AL FLUSH TANK FIXTURE Filed Nov. lO, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOBS Patented .July l,l 1930 "Unirse sra'res PATENT oFrIcE y' ALFRED A. BRIGGS AND JOSIAH A. BRIGGFS` NEW Y-ORK, N., Y.

. f i FLUSH-TANK FIXTURE Application mea November Y1o, 1928.k serial No. 318,406. v

This i vention relatesto flush tank fixtures and particularly to valve mechanism and 'controlling mechanism for initiating theY flow of or discharge of water from thetank.

One ofthe objects of the invention is to provide ya tank fixture of the character described that is simple in construction, comprises few parts, and may be economically manufactured.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fixture that is positive and quiet in op-V eration and in which the'parts are so constructed and arranged that they will not be thrown out of adjustment in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction that is rugged and will operate eectively and quietly without the use of packings', washers or similar devices.

Another object yof the invention is to provide a flush tank `fixture .so constructed and arranged that successive Ydischarges from the tank will be obtained. Y.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part of this application, and in whichl Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a tank having a iixture thereinconstructed in ac. cordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 vis a sectional elevationof the structure shown in Fig. 1 taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

3 is atop plan ofthe valve mechanism shown in Fig. 1; i

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of one of the valve 'mechanisms taken substantially on line Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation ofthe other valve mechanism taken substantially on line 5 5 of Fig.2; n i

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation similar Vto Fig. 1, lpartly broken away, and showing another form of fixture constructed in accordance with the invention; `and f Fig. 7 is atop planview of the structure shown in Fig. 6.

The invention briey describedconsists ofV a flush tank fixture comprising a UshapedV flush or outlet pipe, onel leg ofthe -Ushaped pipe extending downwardly into the tank and receiving Ywater therefrom and the other legk extending downwardly'. throughr the bottom of theytanlnfV A valve casingcommunicates with` the inlet leg of the pipe and when he valve in the casing is opened, water from the pressure main is injected into theinlet leg and initiates. the flow of. water'through'the {iush pipe. the air and water around the. bend of the U- shaped flush pipe and sets in operation the si phon action, whereby the. tankwill be empA tied. In the form of the invention. illustrated, the flow of Water through the valve chamber into the flush pipe and also the flow into the tank to replenish the tankare valve controlled. n

Further details of the invention will appear from the following description.

The invention illustrated and to be described in this, application constitutes a sim plification of and an. improvement, on the inventionl covered by Patent No. 1,519,188 to The water under pressure forces Alfred A.v Briggs, granted December` 16, K

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive` of the drawings, there is. shown a. flush tank 10 having sef curedy theretoy a U-shapedV siphon or flush pipe.` having its inlet leg 11 extending downwardly vto a position adjacent the bottom of the tank and having its outlet leg 12 extending through the bottom of the tank aboutfour inches to form an air chamber between the bowl and the bottom` of the tank. The lower end. of the outlet leg 12 discharges into a pipe 9 secured to the bottom Vof the tank and surroundf ing and' spaced from the end of pipe 12. As shown in Fig.. 1, theinletV leg 11 is slightly, larger in cross section than the outlet leg 12.V

The inlet leg 11of the iiush pipe Vis inter-V rupted, as shown at 13, and an annular casing liis secured to thisportion-of the leg 11. j

The casing, 14 has an annular chamber 15 surrounding the leg 11 and4 has a conical wall 16 Vdisposed above the lconical upper end 17 of the lower portion of the-.leg 11'.. The casing as shown at 19, to the casing. A lock nut 20'"` securesf'thellower portion of the leg 11 inA 5 ing 28""receiveswater from a pressure main *,Sl -rwhichefv as shown'. hat: 325 extends down; wardly through the bottoniofthe tanki The :l

Y coupling 27jcommunicatest,011eend with the chamber 3010i;r the @valve VVcasing and 'at the as valve controlled water 1in-let; pipe for reillin'gthe tank-g hereinafter described. q l valve'fport 38gestablishes communication l, betweenthe chambers29'and 30andthe flow .of liquid throughithis portis controlledvby a -valveO whichlisfadaptedto seat on'the port 4:1 "having f an enlarged rportion 42' slidably mountedina tubular extension 43 which {prof jects downwardly from the valve casingb;` The. enlarged portion "42"iof'"{the "valvejstem l hasa slot/45 therethrough andthe tubular ex s tension 43 iszslottedito perinitntheepassage f35 therethrough Land throughrthe .slotf'flofa valve control-lever 50.-` Thelever'O'is pivoted Y V liaiidA has a spherical `portion 52 disposed in f1 the slotpfln of theenlarged portion of the valve' valve stein .belowthe 'slotl' has formed there- Y .l "iniaconduit havingafdownivardly extendA Y 45 ing'portion A56 and a laterallyextendingpor# f tion'rf56fextendsf`above V57' to forman airY pocket,V in whichyair is-.c'oinpressed, Y'which takes care `of thelastgonersixteenth inch of v d;v valveltravel; The portion: 5'? "of thev conduit` '501 is so located thatwhen the-valvefis opened by 1T vthe\leverLand.thevalve stemisdisposed'inits@ uppermostjposition, the outerend ofthe-por the srlotfor opening'gin the extensionf' through `:it which' thesflever 5,() fpassesfas'showniin 'dotted lineamie-'eax l `f 1; J- v .jAconduit colninunicate'satlOIleIld Witllf I thefchamfber finjthe valve Acasing vandV at' its J stein has Astartediits u'pwardniovement.

Y Y One end ofthe `lever50h13s' connectedtheref rml` "to iwhijchr1 is secured a ballijioat 340..` The.upperfchamberl29 ofrp'thevalve cas-K p Y d link 68 to the lever.

,opposite e'njd theleoupling communicates with Y s atlnn'lugscarried bythe tubular extension lower end below the lever, a nut 69. The opy posite 'end of the link 68 is connected to a V'crank 70 mounted on a spindle 71 journaled in a Wall o'fthe tank and extending 'therethrouzfrh.V The outer end of the spindle 71 has j secured thereto ank arm 75, by means of which the crank and spindlecan be rotated in either direction to lift the lever 50, depress ball 66, and open the valve 40. A second slot 7 6 may be provided in thelever 50 iorthe purpose of securing adustment in the connection of the l.The admission of Water rornvthe rpressure main. into the tank-to refill the tank after it has beenelnptied is controlled inthe followvalve'fchamber 307 from which the water is l conducted to the. inlet'ileg of the Siphon pipe and" is connected at its other end to a valve 'chamber 8O formed in a valve casing 81. The

chamber communicateswith .a chamber 82 throughy a port 83. controlled Vby a valve 84 .i n Y .A l Y .having a valve stem 86 slidablymounted in a TValvet() has connectedfthereto a valve stein bossST formed onthe valve casing 81. The

valve 84" is controlled by a'lever 90 pivotedk secured to the endopposite the pivoted end,

a ball iioat 94 relativelyfsmall in size. An adjustable latop 96 is mounted on a lug 97 carried by the-casing,r .81 for limitingthe downward movement of the lever. .The .Float 94 is carendoii the lever'90j.

Freni the foregoing description itV will be evident vt-hat as the Water in the tank is emptied through the U-shaped discharge pipe and thelevel of' the water is lowered,.the float 94 riedby a Lpost98 adjustably secured to the V will fall and open thejvalveel, thus permit ting thewater from the pressure main to pass through the port'SS from the chamber 8O and into the chamber 82. From this chamber the.

water passesdownwardly through the tank in. the tankf'" reiill pipe 99 to replenish thesupplyof water Y The construction of the valvecontrol mechanism for directing' a streamer water under pressure into thesiph'on or flush pipe isthe samein theform of `the invention `illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 as that illustrated in Figs. l L ;zu to5` inclusiveandgabove described. Therefore, the-'saine referenceV characters` have been Vueedin Figs and 7 and [further description of this mechanismis unnecessary. f In the forni of the invention shown in Figs.

6 and (.the iloatcontrolled valvemechanism for controiling the refining of .the tankis not used4 TheT-shajvned'coupling has connected thereto a `valve casing 10U-having therein ar .p valvecontrolled by afhandlelOl. *Apipe 102` iso The water then flows through the Coupling 27 is connected to the opposite. end of the valve casing and extends downwardly to a position adjacent the. bottom ofthe tank. Thev valvein the casing 100. can bel adjusted to the desired position to regulate the flow of water from the T-shaped coupling into the refill pipe 102. I l f yOperation The fixture shown in Figs. l to inclusive i l0 and above described, operates in the following manner: The normal water level in the tank.v is indicated by the dot and dash lines in A Figs. 1' and A2. When the tank is to be emptied, the crank will be rotated, thus lifting Sthe lower end of the lever4 50 and causing the lever to lift the valve stem 41 and open the valve 40. The water from the pressure main will then be permitted to flow from the chamber29 into the chamber 30 of the valve casing.

- the upper end 11A of the U-shaped connecting coupling between the legs 11 and. 12. This vcolumn of water will force before it any air o in the YtJ-shaped iush pipe and. will completely fill the outlet leg, due to the dierence in diameter between the inlet andoutlet legs of thel flush pipe.

At the timewater isadmitted to chamber- 5 30 it is also in cominunication` with chamber 80. Upon the iirst depression ofy valve 84 some of the water from the main 31 will enter the tank through the pipe 99. `The adjustment provided for by the screw 96`makes it possibleto regulatethe amount of opening of the valve 84 in accordance with the available pressure. If a high pressure is available, kthe valve 84 may be moved downwardly to a considerable extent, whichwill Apermit ya comfparatively largeaniount ofY water from main 31 to enter the tank directly through pipe 99. If the available water pressure is'low, the adjustmentis so made as to give but a slight opening movement to valve 84, so that but little water enters the tank to level it through pipe 99. In either case, however, the, full available pressure is present for the initiation of the siplion action through the condu-it 25.

' After the flow has been-started in the inanner just described, lit will continue by siphon action', assisted byy pressurek ink the main, f through 16and 17, which flows continuously until float 66 raises: and closes valve 40, thus giving a greater force to the siphon and more found in actual practise that the discharge takes` place in successive increments or in successive discharges from the tank and this effectiveness of the flushing action.

thoroughly cleaning the bowl. It has been`r action is advantageous since it increases the The-action .justz mentioned takes. place. in d the/following manner: As. shown in Fig. 1, the discharge pipe 9 empties. into a pipe .108 which leads to the bowl to be flushed. Pipe 103 is smaller in diameter than the pipe9` and, therefore, as the flow'. from the tank passes into. tlie'pipe 9., it will back up, compressing the air in the space surrounding the lower endlof the discharge leg of the siphon pipe and the upper end of the pipe 9. After r the water is substantiallydischarged from the pipe, the pressure in the air chamber described will force the remaining Water out of the pipe9, thus causing an added increment of water to be discharged into the bowl.

This will also be assisted by the water ywhich Y,

is being received from the pressure main, asV

thevalve-'4O will remain open until the float control 66 closes the valve as the float reaches its uppermost .position.` When the Water level` has-been reduced in the tank to a sufficient extent, the float 94 which controls the valve 84 `will'cause this valve to open, thus admitting water to the refilling pipe 99- and effecting the relling of the tank.

During the operation of the valve A40, va cushioning action will be obtained in the lowerfend of the tubularj extension 43 in thev following manner. YDuring the raising of the jvalve stem bythe lever 50, water will enter ,thev lower end of the tubular .exten-V sion 43 through the conduit 60'. As the valve is closing, a portion of this waterwill be permitted to escape. through the conduit 56, 57. However, whentlie valve stem hasY been lowered to a sufficient extent for the outlet end of the portion 57` of the conduit to be closed, the remaining water will be trapped in the lowery end of the` extension 43,`thus cushioning the closing action of the valve.

rlhe valve mechanism controllingthe Vadmission-.of water from the pressure main to the flush pipe inthe form ofthe invention illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, 'operates in the same manner as the corresponding valvev mechanism in the other embodiment of the l invention.V YIn the structure shown in Figs. 6' and 7,7however, the 'level of tlie'talnk is not controlled by separate valve mechanism and the tank islevelled bythe water which passes from, the pressuremain through 'the coupling, through the valve casingr 100, and n again reached normal level inthe tanl'nthe float 66 will cause the valve 40between the di? tliermore,theoperation of thedevice will be noiseless;`

Althoughleertain specific embodiments of' thefinvention' have been .particularly Shown,

Vreillinghpipe 102. After the water has y the foregoing description `it will `be A clearfthat, aA simple, .practical and eiiicientV flush tank fixture hasbeen designed. F ur# "c V 'A -4 me whasibeftherea@pressure mem-adeptedito -supplyfwateriunder pressuieto said andi described, it will beY vunderstoodgthat .the

' 'inventions` is capable of furtherrlnodiflcation n and `that urthenchanges in the construction*` in the arrangement of the various'` cooper-2' ating parts may be Lmade without departing `from the spirit orfscope of the invention, as

expressed 'inthe following claims.

f fllwlngfaflush-Qtank fixture," a'. tank, a 1U- shaped outletpipe having one leg extending to afposition'adjacent the bottom of lthe tank "and the other leg extending through the loottom ofthe tank,jmeansiorupwardly directingza-strear'n ofkwater under pressure into the inletleg of thefpipe, and adischarge pipe l surrounding lthe -outletfleg of .the pipe and spaced-thereirom tojprovide an air `chamber Y andyhavingga restricteclorifiee spaced from Y Seiilar Chamber? 1. i Y Y 11n-,a iigshftankpxture, `a tank, ya -U-1 shaped outlet pipeihavingan inlet leg eX- tending lto a position., adjacent the bottom of thev tank andan-,outletleg extending through l the bottomof thetank, a valve casing having a chainberf` therein, a ,pressure Vmain adapted f Vto supply water` under pressure to saidchams' bena-port between said pressure mainvand said chamber,avalve,controlling said port,

conduit means connecting,said chamber. to

the inlet vlaggiri'f thejU-shaped pipe, a-valve `sterili` housing, :a valve steinv connected-to the valve] and disposed in, said housing, `"and a by-pass conduit connecting said" chamber and llibousing,fthe connection betweengthe bypass [and housinggbeingdisposed above theV ""liver,eXtreme-position or" the stem and vbeflow the upper extreme, position of `the stem.

` shaped outletqpipefhaving an inlet-leg `er- ,f tending s to position adjacenty the bottom of lthe vtank and 'an outlet leg A extending through fthe g of the tank, a valve casing` having `a Vlchamber` therein,V a` pressure wird adapted tofsutply ,Wafer .undef-Prssure tof said chamber, lafport between said :pressureniain and said4 chanibei,-a` valve controlling? said xp'oijt, fi conduit means connectdownwardly tof close 1- the valve.

" l be von:

toaposition"adjacentfthe bottom of the. tank` and ,-anbutlet'V leg` extending" through L the'bottom ofthe tank, valve `easing havl l chamber," a port? between 'said L'pressure f main tion of the stein.

valve stem; housing, a valve stem connected tothe valve vand disposed in said housing, a conduit in the lower portion of the valvestemy having Vone `end fopen inthe upperextreme positionsof the valvestem and closed as the stein and valveimove' downwardly toY close the valve, and a by-pass conduit connecting said chamber andsaidhousing,the connection between the by-pass and housing being disposed above the lower eXtreme position of the stem and below the npper'extreme posi- 5, In n a p flush tanky iixture, a i tank, 4flush pipe kextending through the `,bottom of the tank, a pressure pipe extending into the tank and Vadapted to communicate with-the Hush pipe and `with the tank, a valve :tor controllingthe pressure' pipe,v a lever connected to e 'contrl said valve, a ioaton one end oi' said lever," means connected tofone end of the `lever `for tilting-the leverto open-the valve,

Sli'

another valve vfor controlling the flow of Y `water into the tank, saidoth'er valve having' alever and afloat, and adgustablemeans for" limiting themoveinent otsaid.- lever.

i 6; Ina iush'. tank `vfixture, aftankQa U- shaped outlet pipe having aninlet leg exi Vtendingvto aposition adjacent thebottom of th-e tank andan outlet leg 4extendingthrough i the-bottomiofthe tank, a'valve casing having a -pairlof chambers therein, a pressure main kconnected kto one of' saidchambers, a port opening' between the chambers, a valve controlling said port, means connecting the other chamberi'to theiinletlego'f vthe U-shaped pipe,

lil() said means including astructurelor Vdirectl ing {an} inwardly converging conical stream upwardlyinto said inlet leg, and a conduit leading Jfrom the lastnamed chamber to said tank.VA` V V afflush.` tank fixture, tank, U- i, f Vshaped outlet pipehaving ankk inlet leg extending to a position-adjacent the` bottom of thev tank and an outlet leg exten-ding through rthebottoni' of the tanlga valve casing having a Va'pairfbf chambers there1n,'a pressure main,

conne'etedto one of said.k chambers, a port opening betweenl the chambers, a ,valve con-s trollinggsaid 'port,lme`ans connecting the other chamber to the inlet leg of theU-shaped pipe, L

said nieans ineludinga structure for ydirecting'vaninwardly converging conical stream upwardly yinto said inlet leg, a conduit leading `from' the lastV nana-ed chamber to said y tanka`f1oat controlled valve in said conduit,

and means for adjusting the degree ofV opening fof said float controlled valve. f

e Amann nnniees."

' Josie-H A. sarees; f 

